5

At age five, I began kindergarten, or as I prefer to think of it, the first of  my 20 years of school. Not counting years in school as a teacher. I don’t remember much about kinder, we took a lot of naps. I had a really nice teacher (Mrs. Hanley) who taught us Spanish. My mom got to come in and talk to the class.

 

Before kindergarten, I was with my mom and brother all the time. I never went to daycare, or preschool, and the first few times we were able to go out with relatives, my mom was  a nervous wreck. Of course, this is typical for any new mom, but for mine it was an extreme constructed out of a history that either sets you up to repeat the pattern or sends you thousands of miles away determined to fix what wasn't in your own childhood. My mom was determined to  protect me and my brother from every possible discomfort and perceived danger, and initially, she trusted no one but herself to fulfill this role. Although we certainly clashed over this, particularly during my teenage years, it doesn't sound all that bad in retrospect. I mean, can you really complain about your mom loving you too much? Regardless, I can pretty much assume that my mom came close to having a nervous breakdown when I went off to school. I can also assume that I was probably all like:

Later, ma! 

 

 

 

 I always loved school and learning. Except for Chemistry. That sucked.